Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcake Recipe

May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I came across this recipe back in 2009, except it wasn’t gluten free. The avocado in the recipe intrigued me so I converted it and posted it in my Chicago Family Health Examiner Column. However, Mighty Nest, a local e-commerce company that sells non-toxic, eco-friendly home goods, asked me to help them un-cupcake the cupcake, I happily agreed. We don’t have to sacrifice not eating a cupcake do we? I like to think the calories don’t count in this Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcake Recipe, but alas they do. But this sweet treat has no refined sugars and made with healthy fats using both coconut oil and avocado. That is something you can feel good about!

Avocados are super healthy, in fact it can help aid in losing weight and it makes an excellent first foods for baby. Here are some other great facts about avocados:

  1. Avocados also have 60% more potassium than bananas.
  2. They have the highest fiber content of any fruit  (almost 7g!) including 75% insoluble and 25% soluble fiber
  3. Avocados can protect your vision as they are also rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants found in the retina that keep eyes healthy.
  4. A study done from The Ohio State University found people absorbed 4.5 more times lycopene, which has been linked to protection against prostate cancer, and 2.5 times more beta-carotene, which, along with alpha-carotene, helps protect against cancer and heart disease. Hello guacamole!
  5. Historically avocados had a long-standing stigma as a sexual stimulant and is known by the Aztecs as the “fertility fruit.”  Due to their high monounsaturated fat content and vitamin B6, both are needed to keep energy and libido up.

Well that last fact is surely a fun one, because combined with chocolate it is a win-win.

Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcake

Yes, you can have your cupcake and eat it too!

Yes, you can have your cupcake and eat it too!

1 1/4 cup of flour

3/4 cup of unprocessed unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp of guar gum (I like this better than Xanthan Gum and it is cheaper!)

1/2 cup of non-dairy milk combined with 3/4 tsp of apple cider vinegar set aside

1 avocado pitted

1 cup of Grade B Maple Syrup

1/3 cup coconut oil

Add dry ingredients together and set aside

  1. Puree the avocado, maple syrup and coconut oil together
  2. Add half of dry ingredients into the avocado mixture and blend
  3. While blending, ddd the milk with apple cider vinegar
  4. Finish off with the dry mixture

Scoop mixture into muffin pans and bake for approximately 22 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes about one dozen cupcakes

I also do not like canned frosting. They actually put food dyes in it and I don’t understand why, even for white frosting there is still red and blue dyes in it. I make my own, always. Here is my favorite Whipped Chocolate Frosting that takes 5-minutes to make, literally!

Whipped Chocolate Frosting

3/4 cup of organic powder sugar

1/4 cup of raw cocoa powder

1/2 cup of Spectrum Shortening

2 tsp of coconut milk

In order for me to get truly whipped frosting that feels like it comes from the can (ick!). I like to blend it in my food processor. It adds air to the powders that make it fluff up.  I like using the coconut milk because of its consistency. Here is the quick recipe!

  1. Whip the shortening up until nice and soft.
  2. Add the powders and blend with the shortening
  3. While blending add the milk or for a mocha flavor add coffee

That is it!  Total Time for making your own frosting 5-minutes and you can’t beat that!

 

Filed Under: Family Health, Food, Gluten Free, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: ,

Champagne Mango Guacamole

May 5, 2013 By 1 Comment

Once a month a group of mom’s from my neighborhood get our kids together to hang out and play. It is strange, they all go to different schools, but it is a way for us to stay connected in our hood. It was my turn to host in May and I gladly wanted to because we did a small birthday celebration for my son. I was in the mood to make some guacamole, but wanted to make an untraditional flavor. I had 3 champagne mangos starting to wither a bit and thought, hmmm…Champagne Mango Guacamole.

What is a champagne mango? Well not much different than most regular mangos except they have about 5 times the vitamin C content as most other popular mango varieties available in the United States. Their orange color makes it rich in Vitamin A as well.

Champagne mangos start off with green skin and fully ripen and are very sweet when they are a deep golden yellow. Check out this chart here. The one thing I teach folks when we go on grocery shopping tours is to smell your produce, especially your fruits. When it smells just as it should, that means it is ripe and ready to be eaten.

 

Now you can use regular mangos easily, champagne mangos were on sale a few weeks ago so I bought a few and used one. (oops). But I was not worried, the skin had just begun to wrinkle and that is when mangos are at their sweetest. Using a champagne mango just sounds more rich and  I like the sound of that and the recipe came to mind. I took a quick pic just in case it was good..and it was! This is a fun twist on your traditional guac and a way to impress your guests.

 

Champagne Mango Guacamole

photo

 

4 avocados

1 ripe champagne mango

1/2 lime juiced

1 shallot

2-3 green onions

1/2 tsp of garlic powder

1/2 tsp of Celtic Salt

 

 

  1. Scoop avocados out and into a bowl
  2. Peel mango and dice it into squares while still on the pit, then scrape it off into your bowl.
  3. Juice 1/2 lime
  4. Dice shallots and green onions
  5. Add garlic powder (yes you can use one clove of garlic, I was pressed for time)
  6. Salt to taste

Scoop and enjoy!

For the ultimate Cinco de Mayo feast, start your day with the Strawberry Colada Smoothie

This would be an excellent appetizer to go with the Rainbow Mango Salsa with Coconut Cilantro Lime Chicken for dinner

Filed Under: Food, Gluten Free, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: ,

Libido Boosting Smoothie

February 3, 2013 By 10 Comments

As I just finished writing a guest post for Modern Alternative Pregnancy about, Seven Sexy Foods That Boost Your Libido Naturally. I had a smoothie come to mind, of course! I love smoothies. I love making smoothies that are functional too. While I have received some emails from moms for my Homemade Miralax Smoothie, this one is bound to be more “pleasureful.” :) Drink this Libido Boosting Smoothie for a few days and take notice how things heat up in the bedroom!

Libido Boosting Smoothie:

Sexy Smoothie1 Organic Celery Stalk
1/2 Avocado
12 Organic Frozen Strawberries
1/2 cup of raw almonds soaked over night
1/2 cup of fresh spinach leaves
1 tsp of Raw Maca Powder
2 tsp of Raw Cocoa Powder
2 tablespoon Grade B Maple Syrup (Remember, B is for “Better”)

Whip it up in your blender and enjoy. This makes 2 servings. This is not a very sweet smoothie, so if you need to add a little more syrup, go ahead and add some to your liking.

Are you wondering why this combination?

Celery: Eating raw celery increases sexual stimulation in men

Avocado: This “fertility fruit” is known to help increase libido in both men and women

Strawberries: Foods rich in Vitamin C can actually enhance arousal and sensitivity and Vitamin C is also needed to help increase sperm production.

Almonds: High in Vitamin E, Essential Fatty Acids and the amino acid L-Arginine, which helps improves blood circulation and enhances erectile response in both men and women. Soaking raw almonds not only releases residue and tannins from the skins, but has greater absorption of the nutrients by the body and increased digestibility

Maca Powder: One of my favorite ways to boost my energy naturally in the morning, this Peruvian root vegetable used as a folk remedy to increase stamina, fertility, energy, and sexual function. It also helps balance hormones

Chocolate! Truly nature’s aphrodisiac, it releases those good hormones we feel after the a little romp in the bedroom.

I hope you enjoy this, whenever you need a little fuel for the fire.

Filed Under: Food, Gluten Free, Healthy Eating, Healthy Smoothies, Recipes, Smoothie, Vegan Tagged With: , ,

Chocolate Toffee Gluten Free Granola

December 21, 2012 By 3 Comments

This recipe happened by accident and often find those are the best ones. I started making homemade granola for the teachers at my daughter’s school. Now it is become a tradition and each year it has gotten better. I am the person who throws this and that in there, so this recipe is not exact, but play around with it indeed! When it began to bake, my condo smelled like buttered toffee, except I was using coconut oil. Then I sampled it, wow! Then I added some Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips…oh my wow! Can’t wait for the teachers to get this year’s Chocolate Toffee Gluten Free Granola.

Chocolate Toffee Granola

7 cups of gluten-free oats
2 cups of raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup of quinoa flakes (or unsweetened shredded coconut flakes)
1/4 cup of chia seeds
1/4 cup of flaxseeds
1/3 cup of arrowroot starch (you may omit this I was trying to figure how to clump it together, though it did, I would have added more next time)
1/2 cup of maple sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of honey
1 cup of coconut oil (or Earth’s Balance Soy-free Butter Spread)
2 tsp of cinnamon

2 cups of Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips

You would never guess there is no butter in this recipe

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a big bowl and stir. Melt coconut oil. Add sugars, syrup, honey and coconut oil (or Earth Balance Spread) together. Add wet ingredients to try ingredients.

Place wax paper on a cookie sheet and add 4 cups of the mixture onto the baking sheets. Cook for 40-minutes total, mixing the granola halfway during cook time. If the granola is still moist, cook for another 10-minutes. Allow to cool for another 15-minutes, then add the chocolate chips if you want it melted, or cool completely if you don’t want them melted.

I am submitting this recipe into their Recipe contest to be featured in their next Allergy Free Cookbook. The contest ends January 2013.

Filed Under: Corn Free, Food, Gluten Free, Healthy Eating, Healthy Snacks, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: ,

Healthy Mashed Potatoes and Why These Are Healthy

November 19, 2012 By 5 Comments

While my daughter is already listening to Christmas music on a local radio station, eating mashed potatoes is a weekly thing in our home. My kids (and husband) love them and I love that I sneak in more than just potatoes. I’ll easily add some parsnips, turnips or cauliflower in with the potatoes, since they are also white root veggies, it is easy to sneak in and get other vitamins and minerals. I just made this the other day and I have about 1 cup left over. Here are my Healthy Mashed Potatoes recipe!

Healthy Mashed Potatoes:

You can still enjoy mashed potatoes without all the extras in them! These are power packed!

6 baseball sized organic red potatoes organic yukon gold
2 small turnips
1 large parsnip
Saving 1/4 c of boiled water
2 Tablespoon of unsweetened coconut milk (we use hemp milk)

2 tsp of Himalayan Salt
1 Tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive oil (or use organic, grass-fed butter)
1 tsp of white pepper

Peel potatoes, but don’t dice them. Peel and cut turnips and parsnips. Place them all in a pot of water above the potatoes and bring them to a boil. Once you can put a fork through the turnips, empty the water but for about 1/4 cup of it. Add the coconut milk, salt and pepper. Blend with a blender until smooth and creamy. Drizzle olive oil and garnish with parsley or chives!

Don’t dice your potatoes! Dicing your potatoes loses its vitamin and mineral content when boiled in the water. Just peel and place them whole. Less chopping, but longer boiling time.

Organic is Best! If you are uncertain about why you should buy organic potatoes, then check out this video calledMy Potato Project from a child’s science experiement

We use red potatoes a lot because it is the least starchiest of all the potatoes and have many health benefits, including having 37% more potassium than a banana! A serving of red potatoes twice as large would have very similar calorie and carbohydrate content to that found in the white potato! So you can eat more potatoes without all the extra starch or glycemic index. Red potatoes are also high in vitamin C, niacin, magnesium, iron and vitamin B6. Other vitamins and minerals found in lower amounts include folate, zinc and copper.

Use other root vegetables! Turnips are great because they are roots that belong to the family of cruciferous vegetables — the same plant family as broccoli, cauliflower and kale (and don’t turn the mashed potatoes green!). The turnip’s root is high in vitamin C. The green leaves of the turnip top (“turnip greens”) are a good source of vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, vitamin K and calcium. Turnip greens are high in lutein, which is good for the eyes!

So go ahead and sneak in a turnip or a parsnip. No one will notice and they’ll get more bang for their nutritional value!

Filed Under: Food, Gluten Free, Healthy Dinners, Healthy Eating, Vegan Tagged With: , ,

5-Spice Cran-Apple Crumble

October 26, 2012 By 8 Comments

Well, I entered into another category for the Flavors of Fall Cooking Contest for Artizone Chicago. there were two categories I entered, the Soup/Chili and Baked Goods. My first mystery box contained purple potatoes and a chili con carne spice. The second box contained green apples and a 5-spice blend. This box sat there a whole week and a half before I found something that would be creative and delicious. I looked into the cookbook for recipe inspiration, The Gluten Free Asian Cookbook by Laura Brussell. She had a 5-Spice Berry Crisp. I love crisps and crumbles, hence the 5-Spice Cran-Apple Crumble was created. This was gone in 3 days and my daughter gave it the thumbs up. You will definitely want to make this for your next Thanksgiving dessert! Here is the recipe:

5-Spice Cran-Apple Crumble

Topping:
1 1/2 cup of quinoa flakes
3/4 cup of almond meal
1/4 cup of sorghrum flour
3/4 cup of Specturm Shortening
1/2 tsp 5-spice blend
1/2 cup maple sugar

4 large apples diced
2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 bag of frozen cranberries (10oz)

2 cups of apple cider
1/2 cup of maple syrup
2 Tablespoons Arrowroot Starch (or Tapioca starch/flour which is cheaper)
1/4 cup of raw sugar
1/2 tsp 5-spice blend
1 tsp of cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, reduce 2 cups of apple cider to 1/2 cup (about 20-minutes) and cool.
2. While cider is reducing, dice apples and mix with lemon juice. Add frozen cranberries set aside.
3. Mix dry ingredients together with shortening until it represents a course meal. Set aside.
4. When cider is reduced, place in fridge to cool completely.
5. Grease 9×13 glass baking dish and place cran-apple mixture in the dish.
6. Add maple syrup, arrowroot starch, spice blend, cinnamon into apple cider reduction sauce
7. Mix the sauce with the cran-apple mixture
8. Sprinkle raw sugar over the mixture.
9. Add crumble topping
10. Bake in oven 350 for 35-40 minutes

Serve with coconut milk ice cream. Yes, it is good enough to eat for breakfast with some coconut milk yogurt!

Reducing apple cider gives this dish a natural sweetness without all the added refined sugars. Maple just goes with fall and high in trace minerals such as maganese and zinc. Grade B maple syrup is higher in nutrients. Always remember “B” for “better.”

If you like what you see, head on over to Artizone Chicago Facebook Page and vote for my recipe!

Don’t forget to check out my Purple Potato, White Bean, Chicken Chili Con Carne Recipe too for this contest!

Filed Under: Artizone Chicago, Corn Free, Food, Gluten Free, Healthy Desserts, Recipes, Refinded Sugar Free, Vegan Tagged With: , ,

Creamy Pumpkin Pie Latte Smoothie

October 20, 2012 By 4 Comments

I love smoothies! A big thank you to Square One Organics for giving me some frozen pumpkin pie puree to make a smoothie for the Strollers in the Front 5K here in the city. If you want to check out some healthy breakfast tips and the kiddie version of the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, check out the article!

Now that my daughter is hooked on Pumpkin Pie Smoothies, I had to go back out to the store and buy more Square One Organics Pumpkin Puree. My husband took the kids out for 24 hours so I can get busy in the kitchen for a local cooking contest, I made this Creamy Pumpkin Pie Latte Smoothie for myself before my friend’s Power for Pink workout here in Chicago. It was just the right kick to start off the day before a fun workout.

Coffee, Almond Milk, Pumpkie Puree and a frozen banana froths up nicely for a creamy affect.

Creamy Pumpkin Pie Latte Smoothie:
1 2oz pouch of frozen Square One Organics Pumpkin Puree
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup of organic coffee
1/4 cup almond milk
1 scoop of Sunwarrior Raw Warrior Vanilla Protein Powder
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Blend together and enjoy!

I love fast food breakfast! Don’t you? I promise both are delicious!

Filed Under: Corn Free, Food, Gluten Free, Healthy Eating, Healthy Smoothies, Recipes, Refinded Sugar Free, Smoothie, Vegan Tagged With: ,

How to Make Breads From Anna Yeast Free Bread Mix Egg-Free

October 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

One of my favorite gluten free mixes is Breads From Anna. She is a hidden gem in this gluten free world. I first met and tried her stuff at the Gluten Free and Allergen Free Expo in 2009. She is a talented and super sweet woman!

Baking without eggs is hard…I mean HARD! Eggs in baked goods provides four things when baking:
1. Structure – the egg white and yolk together tenderize the baked goods, making it moist.
2. Coagulation – converting the liquid of the egg to a solid as it binds with the other ingredients
3. Foaming – incorporating air into the batter (we can see the nice pockets of air that adds baked goods their fluff)
4. Emulsifying – helps stabilize liquids together that would not mix well together

My son cannot do eggs or eggs in baked goods. Gluten-free and corn-free baking alone is tough enough and make it vegan? HA! Yes there are egg substitute, but we are limited too. These substitutes include:

1. Flax Gel: 1 Tablespoons of grounded flaxseeds and 3 Tablespoons of hot water for 10 minutes until it gels
2. Chia Gel: Same as above, but use 1T of grounded chia seeds and 3 T of hot water
3. Applesauce: 3T of applesauce and 1 tsp of baking powder (we use Hain’s Corn-free powder)
4. Psyllium Husk Powder: 1 Tablespoon Psyllium seed husks + 2 Tablespoons water = 1 egg (the longer they sit in water the “eggier” they become)

I have tried Chia and Psyllium Husk powder of these with ok success, they are just too gummy, mainly because Breads From Anna already has Chia powder in it, which is great due to the omega content in them. I like the yeast-free bread mix the best.

Thanks to an old article in Living Without Magazine, there was an egg-free gluten free pancake recipe that used carbonated water. I tried the recipe and was pleased with the outcome. So I tried it on my next batch of bread I made. The results was amazing and the bread was gone in 4 days. Here is what I did and followed the recipe almost exactly:

1/4 cup of grapeseed oil
1/2 cup of water
1 Tablespoon of Hain’s Corn-free Baking Powder

It began to foam like this:

This is what happens when you add baking powder to oil and water, it foams and rises.

Then I added half of the baking mix, half can of carbonated water, mixed lightly, then added the rest of the mix and the carbonated water. Baked for 65-minutes at 375 degrees and here is what the bread looked like:

Using carbonate water to replace eggs still gives it the nice fluffy and moist texture eggs provides in baking

My favorite way to eat this bread is drenched in coconut oil. YUM! My daughter likes both coconut and olive and my son, well he can only have grapeseed or olive, he’ll just eat it as is and this is a gluten free bread mix you can trust.

I use the Sassafras stone loaf pan to bake my breads, which is local to Chicago! I don’t have room in my small condo kitchen for a bread machine and this was the cheaper way to go!

Oh and since Thanksgiving is coming up, be sure to order the Herbed Bread Mix, I have been using this for the last 3 years and everyone eats my stuffing up! Don’t forget her pie mix and her apple pancake, maple pancake and cranberry pancake mix…yes I am a fan!

And just wait, I have an Apple Fritter Pancake recipe using her mix that is out of this world.

Thank you Anna for making such a versatile, allergen-free bread and baking mixes that all can enjoy!

Filed Under: Corn Free, Food, Gluten Free, Healthy Eating, Healthy Snacks, Recipes, Refinded Sugar Free, Vegan Tagged With: , , ,

Hot Cocoa Quinoa Cereal

October 9, 2012 By 8 Comments

Brrr…it is getting cold outside and cold weather reminds me of soups and hot cocoa. My daughter has my taste for fine chocolate and getting her to eat something different for breakfast besides waffles and smoothies is a challenge. When I created Hot Cocoa Cereal, we had a sure fire winner. Quinoa flakes is an excellent substitute for oats and makes a great first foods for babies and a healthy alternative to rice cereal. We have made this a few different ways, but here is the basic recipe:

Hot Cocoa Quinoa Cereal:

This is a nice way to start off any school day!

1 cup of milk (we used hemp and almond milk at different times)
1 1/2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 tsp of vanilla powder (use equal parts vanilla extract)
2 Tablespoons of beet sugar, maple sugar or maple syrup (we are refined sugar free)
1/3 c of quinoa flakes

I followed the directions according to the package in terms of liquid and quinoa flakes, however, if you want it less pudding like, add another 1/4 cup of liquids.

Bring milk, chocolate and maple sugar to a boil. Add quinoa flakes. Stir until thickened. Cool and serve!

Total Time from cooking to bowl, 10-minutes. This just makes enough for my daughter, if you want some you will have to make double!

Yes it is really THAT easy!

Here are some other fun variations to add and have tried!

Mexican Hot Cocoa Cereal: Add 1 tsp of cinnamon
PB and Hot Chocolate Cereal: Add 1 T of Sunbutter or Peanut Butter. We used Sunbutter.
Hot Chocolate Covered Almond Cereal: Add 1 tsp of almond extract and used almond milk.
Mocha Almond Quinoa Cereal: I added 1/4 cup of organic coffee in the Hot Chocolate Covered Almond Cereal

Those marshmallows are gluten and corn free, of course!

And yes, we have cheated and just went straight for the hot cocoa mix. Our favorite non-dairy kind is Ghiradelli Double Chocolate, but we use this when we are in a bind as we try hard to avoid refined white sugars in our home. Read why Consumer Groups Are Slamming Breakfast Cereals

Filed Under: Corn Free, Food, Gluten Free, Healthy Desserts, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: ,

Vegan or Paleo? Try this Basil and Butternut Squash Soup

October 8, 2012 By 13 Comments

It wasn’t until I started to make my daughter’s baby food that I learned to love butternut squash and since then it is a staple in our diet. Every Monday I decided that I would be making a soup or stew to last throughout the week. I threw this one together because I have been thinking about the time I made roasted butternut squash with butter and basil…mmmm…so good and I wanted to use basil and butternut squash together in a soup (minus the butter, no dairy for us). Making quick meals is tough at times when you are busy, amen? So here is how I made this versatile butternut squash soup:

This soup can be made paleo or vegan, but together they are flavorful!

1/2 c of fresh basil leaves
1/4 c of dulse leaves
1/2 tsp of Herbamare
1/2 tsp of Himalayan salt
3 cups of navy beans
1 small onion diced up
4-6 carrots chopped up
2-3 organic celery chopped up

One carton of organic vegetable broth
1 carton of precut butternut squash ( it is worth the extra $1 to buy pre cut) or just buy a medium sized squash

I threw the broth and squash in the slow cooker on high for 3 hours.

1 package of nitrate free apple smoked bacon cooked in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes, or until nice and crispy to crumble. I love using this method, no more greasy stove top to clean up!

Saute onions, carrots and celery using a little of the bacon grease or coconut oil, cook until the onions are translucent.

After the squash is done, through it all in your blender or Vitamix and add the basil and puree together until well blended. Pour it back into the slow cooker. Add salts, veggies, beans, crumbled bacon and cook for one hour on low.

Enjoy!

Make it Paleo by omitting the beans
Make it Vegan by omitting the bacon

Feel free to add some white pepper for a little zing.

Oh, what are dulse leaves or flakes? It is a sea veggie high in vitamins B6 and B12, as well as iron, potassium and fluoride. Unlike other seaweeds, it is relatively low in sodium.

Dulse also contains a large list of other vitamins and nutrients, including vitamins C, E, A, magnesium, calcium, dietary fiber and protein. Additionally, dulse is a natural source of iodine, essential for thyroid gland health and thyroid hormone secretion.

Sea Veggies are making a comeback and offer a unique variety of health benefits including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral (which makes it a great immunity booster). In fact, sea veggies contain more minerals than any land-based edible plant. And since these minerals are found in our systems it makes it easier for our bodies to absorb.

This is a great thing to keep around your home, I add them to all of our soups and other dishes, especially homemade chicken soup when we are sick (for its anti-viral properties), it is a great for vegetarians or others who has a compromised immune system.

Don’t worry, it does not have a fishy taste, so you have nothing to lose by adding some to your dishes.

Filed Under: Corn Free, Food, Gluten Free, Healthy Dinners, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: , , , ,
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